A male emperor moth on heather in the near Corwen, north Wales. The emperor moth is the UK's only species of silk moth and is fairly widespread on the UK's heaths and moors. Photograph: Richard Bowler/Rex Features

Three great crested grebe chicks, approximately 10 days old, nestle on the back of their parents, safely tucked under feathers. Once hatched, the chicks climb straight onto the back of their parents and ride around with them in order to be protected from predators. Photograph: Ben Andrew/Rex Features

Stuart Scott won first prize in the Mammal Society's annual photographer of the year competition 2014 for this image of a hare: 'I saw the hare near the edge of a
field by a stonewall near Blainslie in the Scottish Borders. Somehow it
heard me long before I got close and had moved away. When I looked over I
saw it standing up on its hind legs trying to get a good view of me.'
Photograph: Stuart Scott/2014 Mammal Photographer of the Year

Deer forage as fresh snow falls over Boulder, Colorado. After a stretch of sunny spring days, Boulder and the rest of the Front Range are in for colder weather, according to forecasters. Photograph: Brennan Linsley/AP

Abernethy Forest in Scotland. Thousands of trees are to be planted at the RSPB's Speyside nature reserve as part of a project to help restore the country's native Caledonian pine forests. Photograph: Desmond Dugan/RSPB/PA

A common toad approaching a small snail on wet wooden decking in a garden in Sussex. An RSPB survey asked members of the public to count the numbers of species seen in their gardens. Some 28% of people see toads monthly, but the warty amphibians, which
have declined in central and southern England, are more likely to visit
gardens in rural areas, the results showed. Photograph: Alamy

Egrets in the Tieshansi national park in Xuyi, China. Tens of thousands of egrets have settled around the forests and freshwater lake as their breeding season starts. Photograph: Zhou Haijun/Barcroft Media

A mother (right) and young male (left) snow leopard spotted in the Hemis national park in the Ladakh region of India. Wildlife photographer Amos Nachoum, 63, a former Israeli special-forces member, spotted the pair after a gruelling 10-hour wait in the freezing Himalayas and months of research to track the cats. Photograph: Amos Nachoun/Barcroft USA

Wild horses graze in the Nephi Wash area outside Enterprise, Utah. A Utah county, angry over the destruction of federal rangeland that ranchers use to graze cattle, has started a bid to round up federally protected wild horses it blames for the problem. Photograph: Jim Urquhart/Reuters